Robbers hold up El Cerrito restaurant

EL CERRITO Hundreds of dollars, cell phone taken

A Chinese restaurant in El Cerrito has become the latest victim of takeover robbers in the East Bay, while the owner of an Oakland hills cafe apparently foiled a holdup when he refused to open the door to two men putting on masks, police said.

In El Cerrito, two men - one armed with a gun and the other wearing a mask - stormed the Yuet Foo Seafood Restaurant at 10350 San Pablo Ave. about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said. About half a dozen customers and employees were inside the restaurant, which closes at 10 p.m., police Sgt. Peter Statton said.

The men stole a cell phone and several hundred dollars from customers and the business before fleeing on foot toward the Richmond Annex neighborhood in Richmond, Statton said.

It was unclear whether the holdup was linked to recent restaurant robberies in Oakland and other cities, including Castro Valley, Hayward and Daly City.

"There's no way to tell for sure yet," Statton said. "The detectives will be working with the other agencies that have experienced a rash of robberies to see if the M.O. is the same, the clothing. It's certainly possible."

One robber was described as a black man about 18 years old, 5 feet 11 inches tall, 180 pounds and wearing a white T-shirt and black pants. The other was 18 to 20 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 165 pounds and wearing a white T-shirt and a ski mask.

El Cerrito is no stranger to restaurant robberies. In April 2007, Alfredo Figueroa, 40, who owned the Red Onion at 11900 San Pablo Ave. with his wife, died after being shot once in the chest when he resisted demands for money, police said.

In the wake of Figueroa's slaying, the El Cerrito City Council passed a law requiring that shopping centers, banks, fast-food restaurants, check-cashing businesses, convenience stores, gun shops and liquor stores install digital video surveillance systems. The businesses have until October to comply.

Sit-down restaurants are not covered by the ordinance, however, unless more than half their business consists of take-out service, police Cmdr. Michael Regan said. Yuet Foo is not equipped with cameras, and Regan said he didn't know whether the restaurant was required to have a surveillance system.

The El Cerrito holdup happened about three hours after a possible robbery attempt in Oakland.

About 6:10 p.m. Tuesday, the owner of Lee's Cafe on Mountain Boulevard saw two men putting on masks and approaching the front door, which he has kept locked because of the recent rash of robberies. The men left when they couldn't get in, said employee Gou Yee.